Roland Garros Trophy leaves French soil for the first time

08.06.2010 | Careers, Press release, Tennis

BNP Paribas is pleased to announce that the Roland Garros Trophy has left French soil today for the first time ever and will be exclusively displayed at The Queen's Club for the duration of the Aegon Championships this week, for which BNP Paribas is an Official sponsor.

La “Coupe Des Mousquetaires” (The Musketeers' Trophy), which was presented to Rafael Nadal yesterday following his victory at Roland Garros, is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Men's Singles competition at the French Open. Created in its current form in 1981, it is supposed to symbolise the victories of four famous French tennis players, who together make up the “Four Musketeers”: Jacques Brugnon, Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet and Rene Lacoste.The trophy is usually housed in the office of the President of the French Tennis Federation (FFT) and is only removed once every year, when the Men's Singles winner at the French Open is announced. Before today, it had never left French soil.

BNP Paribas, which has been title sponsor of Roland Garros since 1973, is particularly honoured to have been granted permission to remove the trophy from its home and to bring to London for the first time. The trophy will be exclusively displayed on behalf of BNP Paribas at The Queen's Club for the duration of the Aegon Championships.

BNP Paribas's relationship with tennis goes back more than thirty seven years, one of the longest in the history of the sport. In addition to Roland Garros, the bank has had title sponsorship of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris since 1986, the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas since 2001, the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas since 2005, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome since 2006, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells since 2009, as well as sponsorship of other prestigious tournaments & tennis associations all around the world.

In 2009, BNP Paribas became an official sponsor of British Tennis, providing support to the sport across the UK, with a strong brand presence at the LTA international tour events throughout June: the bank is Official sponsor of the Aegon Championships and Title sponsor of the BNP Paribas Tennis Classic at Hurlingham.

BNP Paribas and TennisThroughout the world, for 37 years, the Group's sponsorship policy has come to cover every aspect of tennis: professional, educational, family and social.BNP Paribas has gradually become the leading sponsor in world tennis: official sponsor of Roland Garros since 1973, title sponsor of the BNP Paribas Masters since 1986, of the Bank of the West Classic in California since 1991, of Davis Cup by BNP Paribas since 2001, Fed Cup by BNP Paribas since 2005, of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome since 2006, and of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells since 2009, as well as being actively involved in many other international competitions (Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca, Open 13 in Marseille, etc.) and the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour. Through its support of several national tennis associations, 2000 clubs, 550 amateur tournaments and educational and social programmes around the world, BNP Paribas is actively involved in the promotion of tennis and in encouraging people from all walks of life to take part in the sport. The Group's commitment to the values of social awareness are reflected in the sponsorships it has developed through numerous projects including Yannick Noah's “Fête le Mur association” or the tennis Téléthon in France, the Oberer Tennis Camp in Switzerland or the BNP Paribas Taste of Tennis in the United States.

About BNP ParibasBNP Paribas (www.bnpparibas.com) is one of the six strongest banks in the world according to Standard & Poor's* and the largest bank in the eurozone by deposits. With a presence in more than 80 countries and more than 200,000 employees, including 160,000 in Europe, BNP Paribas is a leading European provider of financial services on a worldwide scale. It ranks highly in its three core activities: Retail Banking, Investment Solutions and Corporate & Investment Banking. In Retail Banking, the Group has four domestic markets: Belgium, France, Italy and Luxembourg. BNP Paribas is rolling out its integrated model across the Europe-Mediterranean zone and boasts a large network in the United States. BNP Paribas Personal Finance is the leader in consumer lending in Europe. In its Corporate & Investment Banking and Investment Solutions activities, BNP Paribas also enjoys top positions in Europe and solid and fast-growing businesses in Asia. *Within its peer group